Biomédica ISSN: 0120-4157 ISSN: 2590-7379 Instituto Nacional de Salud Bolaños, Fernando; Jurado, Leonardo F.; Luna-Tavera, Rina L.; Jiménez, Jaime M. Abdominal angiostrongyliasis, report of two cases and analysis of published reports from Colombia Biomédica, vol. 40, no. 2, 2020, pp. 233-242 Instituto Nacional de Salud DOI: 10.7705/biomedica.5043 Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=84364615004 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System Redalyc More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America and the Caribbean, Spain and Journal's webpage in redalyc.org Portugal Project academic non-profit, developed under the open access initiative Biomédica 2020;40:233-42 Abdominal angiostrongyliasis in Colombia doi: https://doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.5043 Case report Abdominal angiostrongyliasis, report of two cases and analysis of published reports from Colombia Fernando Bolaños1,2, Leonardo F. Jurado3,4,5, Rina L. Luna-Tavera1, Jaime M. Jiménez1 1 Departamento de Patología, Hospital Universitario Hernando Moncaleano Perdomo, Neiva, Colombia 2 Departamento de Patología, Hospital Universitario Departamental de Nariño, Pasto, Colombia 3 Departamento de Patología y Laboratorios, Hospital Universitario Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia 4 Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia 5 Facultad de Medicina, Fundación Universitaria Sanitas, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia Abdominal angiostrongyliasis is a parasitic zoonosis, endemic in the American continent. Its etiological agent is Angiostrongylus costaricensis, a nematode whose definitive hosts are rats and other rodents and the intermediate hosts, slugs. Mammals acquire the infection by consuming vegetables contaminated with L3 larvae. The disease shows a heterogeneous clinical spectrum and given its low incidence its diagnosis is a great challenge. In Colombia, the first case was reported in 1979 and until 1998, only five additional cases have been reported. However, in the last two decades, no new cases were reported. Here we discuss two cases of children from Huila and Caquetá departments who developed the disease. Both cases required long in-patient care and multiple surgical interventions. The diagnosis was achieved by histopathological observation of parasitic elements inside the mesenteric arteries. One of the children died while the other fully recovered. We discuss the epidemiology, pathogenic cycle, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and prevention strategies of this disease paying particular attention to our patients’ features and the Colombian context. Keywords: Angiostrongylus; Strongylida infections/diagnosis; case reports; Colombia. Angiostrongiliasis abdominal, reporte de dos casos y análisis de los casos publicados en Colombia La angiostrongiloidiasis abdominal es una zoonosis parasitaria endémica en el continente americano. Su agente etiológico es el nematodo Angiostrongylus costaricensis, cuyos Received: 27/05/2019 huéspedes definitivos son los roedores y, los intermediarios, los caracoles y las babosas, Accepted: 19/01/2020 Published: 10/03/2020 por lo que se adquiere al consumir vegetales contaminados con larvas en estadio 3. La presentación clínica es muy variada y, dada su rareza, su diagnóstico es un desafío. Citation: En Colombia el primer caso se reportó en 1979 y, desde entonces hasta 1998, se han Bolaños F, Jurado LF, Luna-Tavera RL, Jiménez JM. informado cinco casos más, aunque en las últimas dos décadas no se había reportado Abdominal angiostrongyliasis, report of two cases and analysis of published reports from Colombia. ningún caso. Se describen aquí dos casos de angiostrongiloidiasis en niños provenientes Biomédica. 2020;40:233-42. de los departamentos de Huila y Caquetá que requirieron una larga hospitalización https://doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.5043 y múltiples intervenciones quirúrgicas. El diagnóstico se logró al observar en los Corresponding author: especímenes quirúrgicos larvas and huevos cuya morfología sugería una infección por Leonardo F. Jurado, Departamento de Microbiología, nematodos; uno de los pacientes murió y el otro se recuperó satisfactoriamente. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Se discuten la epidemiología, la patogenia, la presentación clínica, el diagnóstico y Colombia, Carrera 30 N° 45-03, edificio 471, piso 3, las estrategias de prevención de esta parasitosis, con énfasis en las características Bogotá, D.C., Colombia Teléfono: (312) 873 7570 particulares de los casos descritos y en el contexto colombiano. [email protected] Palabras clave: Angiostrongylus; infecciones por Strongylida/diagnóstico; informes de Author contributions: casos; Colombia. Fernando Bolaños, Rina L. Luna-Tavera, and Jaime M. Jiménez conducted the pathological diagnosis Human angiostrongyliasis is a parasitic and zoonotic disease and follow up. Leonardo F. Jurado performed the clinical analysis, caused by the nematode species Angiostrongylus costaricensis and A. the literature revision, and the drafting of the cantonensis, which belong to the Metastrongylidae family (Leiper, 1908) manuscript. All the authors reviewed and approved the final version. (1). Angiostrongylus costaricensis, which produces abdominal disease, was described by Morera and Céspedes in Costa Rica in 1952 (2,3). Funding: Hospital Universitario Hernando Moncaleano Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which causes eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, Perdomo, Neiva, Colombia was reported infecting the pulmonary arteries and hearts of domestic rats in Conflicts of interest: Guangzhou (Canton), China, by Chen in 1935 (4). In both cases, rats are the The authors declare no conflicts of interest. main definitive hosts and snails are the intermediate hosts (1,3). 233 Bolaños F, Jurado LF, Luna-Tavera RL, Jiménez JM Biomédica 2020;40:233-42 To date, 18 species of Angiostrongylus have been identified around the world (5). Their taxonomic classification relies on the morphological characteristics of the rays of the copulatory bursa, its host group specificity, and the organ where the adult worms are located while infecting the host (5,6). Angiostrongylus costaricensis, endemic in South America and the Caribbean, is responsible for a pathologic abdominal syndrome characterized by the presence of the nematode and its eggs inside the mesenteric arteries (2). Histologically it is characterized by eosinophilic infiltration, vascular abnormality, and granulomatous reaction (7). Morera and Céspedes in Costa Rica first reported this condition in 1952, and in 1971 they described the parasite using surgical specimens obtained from a patient who had an appendicitis-like clinical syndrome (8). The current natural distribution of this parasite ranges from the southern United States to northern Argentina (9) and human cases have been reported in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Guadalupe, Honduras, Martinique, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Puerto Rico, Spain, the United States, Venezuela, and Zaire (10,11). The adult nematode has a filiform morphology and its cephalic pole is round. The caudal end is knoblike and its esophagus is club-shaped. Its copulatory bursa is slightly asymmetric and well developed. The dorsal ray is short and bifurcates in branches ending in sharp tips (3,5,6). The most important definitive hosts are rodent species, the main being Sigmodon hispidus (hispid cotton rat) (1,11). Other species such as Rattus rattus, Zygodontomys microtinus, Orizomys fulvesceus, and Orizomys caliginosus are also relevant (12). In some cases, even domestic dogs can be reservoirs (13). Intermediate hosts are slugs of the Veronicellidae family such as Sarasinula plebeia and snails such as Lissachatina fulica, but several other mollusks may also play a role as intermediate hosts (14-17). Adult worms reside inside the mesenteric arteries of rodents where females lay their eggs (18). Humans are accidental hosts due to the ingestion of contaminated vegetables, raw or undercooked snails, and mollusks containing L3 larvae are necessary to become infected (19-22). The cycle is not completed when host- parasite adaptation fails (23) (figure 1). Figure 1. Angiostrongylus costaricensis life cycle Rats and other rodents are definitive hosts. Humans get infected when third-stage larvae are ingested. In rats, adult female worms produce approximately 15,000 eggs daily. Eggs are carried to the mesenteric arterioles and break into the intestinal lumen where they hatch. First-stage larvae (L1) are excreted with the feces and then they are swallowed by intermediate hosts (snails or slugs) and develop into third-stage larvae (L3) (infective). Human beings occasionally acquire the infection by eating snails, slugs or contaminated vegetables containing the infective larvae. The larvae enter the bloodstream in the intestine wall and can move to the liver or other abdominal organs causing angiostrongyliasis. Illustrations by Óscar Chávez, photography by David Bolaños, design by Leonardo F. Jurado 234 Biomédica 2020;40:233-42 Abdominal angiostrongyliasis in Colombia In humans, both the eggs and the larvae provoke a severe inflammatory reaction in the ileocecal mucosa characterized by a granulomatous response with marked eosinophilic infiltrates. These pathological phenomena can trigger intestinal bleeding, perforation, and/or intestinal stenosis with subsequent obstruction (24,25). In epidemiological terms, incidence or prevalence data are scarce. In Brazil,